Taiwan crisis eases; recount possible within two days

Taiwan's bitter political crisis eased slightly on Sunday as the opposition Nationalist Party said it believed a recount in a fiercely contested presidential election could begin within the next two days.
Hours earlier, riot police had pushed and dragged away the last 200 Nationalist protesters from the presidential office, ending a week-long sit-in over the election controversy that has roiled financial markets and drawn threats from rival China.
President Chen Shui-bian, who defeated Nationalist leader Lien Chan by just 30,000 votes out of more than 13 million cast, said on Saturday he would agree to a full judicial recount to help resolve a crisis that has paralysed one of Asia's most vibrant economies.
Chen asked the Nationalists to formally file a lawsuit contesting the poll result, which they have agreed to do.
"We hope after we file the lawsuit tomorrow (Monday), the recount can start the next day," said Nationalist spokesman Justin Chou. "We hope the recount can be held in Taipei, with judges and inspectors supervising."
On Saturday, half a million Nationalist supporters braved a cold drizzle to throng the streets of Taipei in Taiwan's largest protest, demanding a recount and an inquiry into an assassination attempt on Chen on election eve that Lien says cost him victory.

Protesters have demonstrated non-stop outside the president's office since the March 20 poll, though their numbers had dwindled by daybreak on Sunday when helmeted police followed orders from Chen to clear the square.
Some minor scuffles broke out but there was not much violence. Outnumbered by the police, most protesters left reluctantly but calmly, although police had to strap some stubborn demonstrators into strait jackets to carry them away.
"Is it wrong to love your country," shouted one woman, crying as she was sandwiched between two policemen and escorted away.
ANOTHER SIT-IN: About 100 protesters went to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall nearby to begin another sit-in. The Nationalists have vowed to hold another huge rally if their demands are not met soon.
"We will do our best to execute the recount according to the demands of the court and the two parties," George Huang, chairman of the Central Election Commission, told Reuters.
"How long it takes depends on how they want to do it. It will take a day or two if the recount is done by the election commissions in the 25 counties and cities," he said, adding the tally can take longer if it is centralised in Taipei.